Many people are uncomfortable talking about racial differences. But Thursday students learned about these differences and how to interpret them in their daily lives.
The Union Programming Council’s Black Culture and Ideas and Issues committees introduced their Perspective Speakers Series with senior writer for The New York Times Lena Williams.
UPC Ideas and Issues chair Brandon Smith stood before the audience and introduced Williams.
“I encourage you to open your minds. Think outside the box,” Smith said. “If you are not outside your comfort zone, I’m sure Ms. Williams will push you out of it.”
Williams came before the crowd to discuss issues about race based on her book, “It’s the Little Things: Everyday Interactions that Anger, Annoy, and Divide the Races.”
During her speech, Williams addressed common stereotypes and misconceptions held between white and black races.
She then asked audience members to raise their hands if they had close friends of an opposite race, keep their hands up if they had dinner at the person’s home, and remain with their hands up if they had ever spent a night with them.
As the hands began to drop Williams said, “It’s funny how we have these stereotypes about people, yet we haven’t even spent a night in the home of someone of another race.”
Williams said many of the perceptions we have of other people we form behind closed doors with members of our own race.
“While we can all be racist in attitude, we can all do something about it,” she said.
Williams also addressed campus issues.
In regards to the primarily African-American seating in Tiger stadium, she said people gravitate toward those who are most like them and would accept them.
“All of the black people sitting together is no different than if a woman enters a room full of men and sees another woman,” she said. “She will go sit by that woman.”
As with Tigerland bars, she said anyone’s first reaction is to feel offended and hurt. However, positive experiences can stem from this hurt.
“When we know what it feels like to hurt,” she said, “we learn not to hurt each other.”
Letrez Myer, a mass communication senior, said, “It’s important to have a speaker like Williams come to LSU, especially considering we are trying to increase diversity,” she said. “It’s effective to talk about this issue as well as to bring in people to educate beyond our own means.”